The

Franklin Prosperity Report ®

‘a penny saved is a penny earned’ April 2019 / Vol. 11, No. 4

10 Travel Hacks That Can

Save a Bundle
By Gina Roberts-Grey

The spring and summer travel seasons are right around the corner. And
whether you’re eyeing a quick weekend getaway or a week-long tropical
retreat, you want to land the best deal. Here’s how to ensure you nab the
best value for your money on all your excursions.

1. Know When to Book

Third-party travel site Priceline recently crunched numbers to find the
best times to book holiday-timed travel this spring and summer. If your
Memorial Day, Fourth of July, or Labor Day plans include travel, here’s how
to score big savings on hotels and flights, per Priceline’s data:

Memorial Day
When to book: Hotels and flights hold steady pricing until about 12 days
prior to Memorial Day weekend (May 25 this year). At that point, airfares
start to rise. You can feel confident booking a hotel at any point between
now and Memorial Day weekend, but for flights, it’s best to book more than
12 days out.

What you’ll pay: An average Memorial

Day weekend flight costs $239 if
INSIDE . . . bought 12 days in advance, but then
prices begin to rise.
College Counseling Services Reeling
After Bribery Scandal, But Could The average price for a flight booked
They Provide Real Value?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 one day prior to Memorial Day weekend
is $313 per ticket, about 31 percent
The Little Rule That Lets You more expensive.
Expand Your 401(k) Investment
Choices While Still Employed . . . . . . . . . . 7 Fourth of July
When to book: Hotel and airfare prices
From Trash to Cash: Getting Paid hold steady until about 16 days before
for Stuff You Planned to Toss. . . . . . . . . . . 9 July 4. After that, airfares rise.
Investment Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Hotels can be booked at any point
Money Briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 between now and the beginning of
Fourth of July weekend, but make sure

www.franklinprosperityreport.com
 you book your flight more than 16 days in advance.

What you’ll pay: An average Fourth of July flight costs approximately $214
per ticket 16 days prior, but the average price for a flight booked one day
in advance is approximately $304 per ticket, about 42 percent more expensive.

Prime Summer Travel

When to book: August 4-11 is the busiest travel week in the summer (outside
of holiday weeks). Hotels and flights tend to hold steady until about 14
days prior to August 4.

What you’ll pay: An average early August flight costs approximately $216
per ticket if purchased 14 days in advance, but the average price for a
flight booked one day prior to August 4 is approximately $369 per ticket,
about 71 percent more expensive.

Labor Day
When to book: Flight prices start to soar about 10 days before the start
of Labor Day weekend. An average Labor Day weekend flight costs approxi-
mately $252 per ticket 10 days prior, but the average price for a flight
booked after that is about 44 percent higher, approximately $364 per ticket
if bought one day in advance. Hotel prices typically hold steady right up
until Labor Day weekend.

2. Contact the Property

Before booking a room online, make a call to the property, suggests Raphael
Marchand, manager at the Fairmont San Francisco hotel. “There are often special
offers and exclusive deals available only through the hotel,” he explains.

For instance, Fairmont San Francisco recently introduced its Spring Break
“Save or Splurge” deals, which are only available through the hotel, not
travel sites like Priceline or Travelocity.

And if you do find a better price on a third-party booking site like

Booking.com, ask the hotel to price match the deal. Andrea Woroch, consumer
money-saving expert, says ultimately, it’s often best to book through the
hotel. “You often have more flexibility for making changes to the reserva-
tion or getting a free upgrade or other freebies,” she notes.

3. Park at an Offsite Lot

A lot of people spend time shopping around for airfares, but overlook the
cost of parking at the airport, which can negate any savings you scored on
your flight! Use sites like AirportParkingReservations.com to review park-
ing lot options that are near, but not at, the airport.

These tools list various parking locations, distance to the airport, avail-
able shuttles, and reviews, plus daily prices. Some also offer coupon codes
to help you save on their service fees. When I checked, I was able to find
a parking lot for a flight out of LAX for $5.99 per day.

2 FranklinProsperityReport.com April 2019

 4. Stay Outside of the City Center
Most major cities have plenty of hotel options outside of the city center.
For example, when planning a trip to the Big Apple, consider staying in an
outer borough versus Manhattan. This allows you to spend more on experi-
ences than lodging.

5. Get on Their Email Lists or Follow on Social Media

Hotels, airlines, and travel sites often highlight special travel deals
for email subscribers. Priceline, for example, offers exclusive deals to
Twitter followers and newsletter subscribers. Priceline also offers mobile-
only deals if you search for hotel accommodations via its app.

6. Purchase Admission Tickets in Advance

Woroch says you can often pay less for activities and entertainment by pre-
booking tickets in advance. For example, you can save up to $25 per person
at Six Flags by purchasing passes online. You can even do this from your
hotel room the night before.

7. Negotiate on Home Rentals

If you’re booking accommodations at the last minute, you may be able to
negotiate the rate for a home rental through sites like VRBO, since the
homeowner may be eager to get the space filled.

8. Bundle Up
Bundle or package deals that include airfare, hotel, and/or a car, can
yield hundreds of dollars in savings. On Priceline, the average traveler
saves $240 per transaction when booking a bundle.

9. Consider Booking “Express Deals”

Hotels (even some luxury ones) will often offer steep discounts (50 percent
or more) on third-party sites when you book blind — just choose the
hotel based on its star rating, location, and reviews without knowing its
specific name. Once you complete the reservation, you’ll learn the name of
the hotel. Such deals are often only available for last-minute travel, but
can also sometimes be found weeks in advance.

10. Embrace Flexibility

If your schedule allows, try to plan a vacation for a mid-week stay,
rather than one that spans a weekend. The rates will likely be cheaper,
while the amenities and experience are the same. Or choose your destina-
tion, then price out the cost of the hotel for the length of your trip
over multiple different time frames to spot the lowest rates. The savings
may be considerable.

April 2019 NewsmaxFinance.com 3

 College Planning
College Counseling Services Reeling After Bribery
Scandal, But Could They Provide Real Value?
By Greg Brown

In March, 50 people, including celebrities Lori Loughlin and Felicity

Huffman, were indicted for bribing their children’s way into elite colleges.
The actresses used a private college counseling service called The Key,
which promises to get children of the wealthiest families in the U.S. into
top schools.

When the news broke, some parents were cynical and assumed that’s how it’s
always been done. Others wondered if their children could have gotten into
those elite schools had their spots not been taken by the undeserving chil-
dren of ultra wealthy who cheated the system. And clearly, the reputations
of for-profit college counseling services took a hit after the fallout.

But there are legitimate educational consulting services that don’t use
bribery to help their clients with the college admissions process. Could
there be some benefit to using one?

The fact is getting into college is harder than ever. Acceptance rates
across the board are down, with rates for the more competitive colleges
being down the most.

For example, according to BusinessStudent.com, the average acceptance rate

for a school in the top 10 percent of colleges was 16 percent in 2006.
Today, it’s just 6.4 percent. Even mid-range schools are harder to get
into. Case Western Reserve University, for example, accepted 67 percent of
applicants in 2006; in 2018, it accepted just 35 percent.

No wonder parents are dropping hundreds — sometimes thousands — of dollars

for college admissions help from one-on-one advisers. Rates typically run
around $200 an hour, with some services costing north of $16,000 for a
package that helps students get into an Ivy League school.

What Educational Consultants Offer

So is a private personalized college admissions advice worth the money?

Start by considering what you’re actually buying. Educational consultants

can offer students a wide variety of services, including everything from
helping students select appropriate schools and organize the application
process to providing advice on essay topics, helping students prepare for
admissions interviews, and providing strategies for boosting standardized
test scores.

4 FranklinProsperityReport.com April 2019

 These services can be useful for parents who either don’t have the time
or the expertise to help their children navigate the brave new world of
higher education.

For example, Fiona Haynes of Seattle, Washington, used PrepNorthwest, a

test-preparation service in Bellevue, Washington, to help her daughter
boost her standardized test scores.

“Despite having a 3.9 GPA in math, my daughter attained a lower-than-

expected score in the math portion of the SAT,” Haynes said. “She needed
to figure out how to take the test.

“I enrolled her in a six-hour review session, paying just under $300

($3,000 buys 30 hours of one-on-one time plus eight practice tests). She
then practiced some more at home. When she took the SAT a second time, her
math score improved by 90 points, and she got into her desired college. So
yes, it was money well spent.”

Soup to Nuts College Prep and Planning

Other services are more comprehensive. The College Coach, for instance,
is a nationwide service that offers students help with finding the right
colleges, writing admissions resumes, scheduling and preparing for admis-
sions interviews, and applying for financial aid, scholarships, and loans.

The College Coach will also arrange campus tours and work with interna-
tional and transfer students. The level of service generally falls into two
tiers, either an hourly fee or an all-inclusive package price.

Another service is Collegewise,

which provides students with an
individual counselor who will
help them develop a balanced
list of colleges to apply to,
organize a timeline for submit-
ting and managing applications,
help students solicit letters
of recommendation, brainstorm
essay topics, arrange campus
visits, find tutoring help if
necessary, prepare for college
interviews and auditions (for
music or theater majors, for
example), and help with stan-
dardized test preparation.
Collegewise also has a pay-as-
you-go counseling system and an
early “jumpstart” program for
pre-high-school-age students.
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 Collegewise claims that 95 percent of its 2018 seniors got into one of
their top three college choices and received in total more than $54 million
in merit-based financial aid.

Again, this sounds great, but it could be the case that a professional
college counseling service simply makes sure that its clients apply to
schools where they are likely to get accepted and offered scholarships.
That in itself might be worth paying for; just be sure you know what
you’re getting before shelling out big bucks.

According to one public high school guidance counselor in Maryland,

these services seem to be most useful for parents who either never went
to college, don’t have the time to help their students navigate the
application process, or who don’t understand how the process works.
The trick is to find a legitimate service that can identify where the
student needs help and provide that help at a reasonable cost.

The Free Route

But many of the services offered by private college admissions consultants
can be duplicated by parents and students for free or at a low cost.

For example, most high schools offer online college search tools free to
students, and many are quite sophisticated, offering charts, for example,
that show a student’s likelihood of being admitted to a particular college
based on his or her GPA, courses, and test scores.

The College Board’s BigFuture service (bigfuture.collegeboard.org) and

College Niche (www.niche.com) also offer myriad ways for students to search
for colleges based on majors, size of the schools, locations, GPAs, test
scores, and more. College Niche also has rankings lists for everything from
best dorms to safest campuses and offers Yelp-like student reviews to give
insights into what college life is really like at a particular school.

FastWeb.com and Unigo.com offer search services for scholarships, and

PrincetonReview.com provides help with preparing a college essay. (Note:
Princeton Review charges $39.99 per month for one hour of consulting, but
it has a free trial.)

Finally, if you plan to get financial aid, you’ll need to fill out the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA.gov). This is required by all
schools in order to qualify for federal grants, student loans, and work
study programs.

And even if you don’t think you’ll qualify, it’s worth filling out. Schools
consider student loans a form of aid, for example, and in order to get a
student loan, you will need to fill out the FAFSA.

If your student is bound for a private school, you will also have to fill
out the CSS Profile. It is available at CollegeBoard.org.

6 FranklinProsperityReport.com April 2019

 Your Retirement
The Little Rule That Lets You Expand Your 401(k)
Investment Choices While Still Employed
By Kathryn Anne Stewart

When you leave an employer, it’s common to roll over your 401(k) balance
to an IRA. But did you know that sometimes you can make this move while
still employed?

I sure didn’t. In fact, if you had asked me a few weeks ago about the basic
rules of 401(k) plans, one of them would have been: Don’t touch the money
until you retire or change jobs.

The reason? Although in certain cases, current employees can qualify for
a hardship withdrawal or a loan from their 401(k) plans, generally, it’s a
bad idea to take out funds early. You will likely pay penalties and income
taxes on the withdrawal, not to mention the fact that you will rob yourself
of the ability to grow your nest egg over time.

However, some 401(k) plans have a loophole that allows you to pull out your
money without any of those downsides, while still remaining an employee of
the company that sponsors the plan. It’s called an in-service rollover,
in-service distribution, or in-service withdrawal.

The catch is that you can’t take out the money and spend it, but rather you
can use it to set up a self-directed individual retirement account (IRA).
Why would you want to do that? There are a few advantages, most of which
have to do with gaining flexibility and control:

Additional investment options.

Many 401(k) plans don’t offer a wide variety of investment vehicles.
Typically, you’ll just find mutual funds, and even then, you may not have
the ability to invest in say, a gold fund or a healthcare sector fund.

Shifting money into a self-directed IRA gives you access to a greater

number of choices. You can opt for differ-
ent funds than the ones available in your Subscriber Exclusive
employer’s plan, or stocks, bonds, managed
investment accounts, REITs (real estate For access to past editions, visit
investment trusts), or even options. FranklinProsperityReport.com
If you have a favorite stock you want to Check your e-mail inbox for this
own for the long haul, an individual IRA month’s password.
gives you the opportunity to do so, whereas (Remember to use lowercase letters.)
a 401(k) typically won’t.

April 2019 NewsmaxFinance.com 7

 Potentially lower fees.
Does your employer’s plan have above-average expenses? Find out by reading
the annual disclosure statement that every 401(k) plan is required to send
participants. If the fees are higher than about 1 percent, you may be able
to save money by rolling funds over to an IRA and choosing investments with
lower fees, like index funds.

Flexible beneficiary options.

As you know, your named beneficiary is the person who will inherit your
assets when you pass away. By law, your spouse, if you have one, is the
default beneficiary on 401(k) accounts. For you to name anyone else, your
spouse must sign a waiver approving the move.

With IRAs, you can typically name any beneficiary without these extra steps
and signatures. Different IRA custodians have different rules surround-
ing beneficiaries, however, so check on the new custodian’s rules before
making a move.

Uninterrupted access.
Did you know that some 401(k) plans can limit access to your money for
days, weeks, or even months? It’s true. This is called a blackout period,
and it typically happens when an employer is making major changes to the
plan, such as switching to a new administrator or changing the invest-
ment options.

Assets in an IRA, on the other hand, are totally under your control and not
subject to blackout periods.

Before You Make the Switch, Read This

Of course, there are some downsides to switching money out of a 401(k), too.
Some 401(k) plans allow you to take a loan from your account; IRAs do not.
This could come in handy if you have kids attending college or might want
to take a loan to buy a house.

And if you hope to take an early retirement, know that most 401(k) plans
allow you to withdraw your money starting at age 55 without penalty. IRAs
require you to wait until age 59½ to start withdrawing, or else pay a 10
percent penalty.

How to Find Out If You’re Eligible

Because not all 401(k) plans offer the option of in-service rollovers, your
first step should be to find out if yours does. Usually your employer’s
human resources department is a good place to start.

If your 401(k) plan does allow them, ask the following questions before
making a move:

8 FranklinProsperityReport.com April 2019

 • Will I be able to continue contributing to the employer-sponsored
401(k) plan?
Some employers place a temporary ban on further contributions after an
in-service rollover or distribution. This gap could negatively impact your
ability to continue saving for retirement — at least in the short term.

• What are the age requirements for in-service rollovers?

Some plans offer them starting at age 55. Others have no age requirement.

• Is all the money in my account available for an in-service rollover?

Some plans allow you to remove only a certain percentage of your assets
for an in-service distribution. Others have different rules for money you
deferred from your paycheck versus money the company contributed on your
behalf. Sometimes your age and length of employment determine whether or
not the funds are available for in-service rollovers.

• Is there a limit on how many in-service rollovers I can take, or how

much money I can roll over?
Some plans have a maximum number of in-service rollovers per year or a
minimum amount that must be taken out each time.

Decluttering
From Trash to Cash: Getting Paid
for Stuff You Planned to Toss
By Gina Roberts-Grey

Before you add that empty ink cartridge or cosmetics bottle to the trash,
consider this: there are several recycling programs that not only give you
the satisfaction of helping the environment, but can line your pockets with
a little green, too. Check out the following:

Ink Cartridges
If you’re a frequent Staples shopper, you may be able to save a few bucks
and clean out your office.

How it works — Spend at least $30 on ink or toner, then bring the used
printer cartridge to the store (or request a shipping label from the
Staples website), and you’ll get $2 in Staples Rewards. You must recycle
the cartridge within 180 days of buying the $30 in ink or toner, but you
don’t necessarily have to recycle that exact cartridge. Office Depot has a
similar recycling program, which also offers a $2 reward.

April 2019 NewsmaxFinance.com 9

 Cosmetics
Kiehl’s recycling rewards program lets you recycle empty cosmetics contain-
ers for stamps that can add up to free products.

How it works — Bring in an empty full-sized Kiehl’s cosmetic or fragrance

container, and you will receive a stamp. Once you have collected 10 stamps,
you can get a free 2.5-oz. travel-size product worth up to $11. Kiehls.com
has the details. Cosmetics company MAC has a similar program, which offers
consumers a free lipstick of their choice after recycling six empty MAC
product containers. See MACcosmetics.com for details.

Hangers
Wire clothes hangers can’t be tossed into traditional municipal recycling
bins because their hooks can cause damage to the sorting system. But many
dry cleaners like ZIPS in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area, will
happily take back any unwanted or excess metal or wire hangers you may be
holding onto. Some may even offer you a small compensation.

Clothing
Several national and branded clothing merchants offer rewards for clothes
that you have outgrown or no longer use. Through its Clothes the Loop
program, The North Face will give you a $10 reward toward your next purchase
of $100 or more at any The North Face store or outlet when you bring in
your unwanted clothes and shoes for recycling. The recycled clothes can be
any brand, in any condition.

You can also drop off worn-out clothes or shoes at any American Eagle and
receive a text coupon for $5 off a new pair of AEO jeans. And for every
bag of clothing (new, outdated, torn, or never worn) you take to clothing
retailer H&M, you can get a voucher for 15 percent off your next purchase.

Technology
Electronics retailers including Target, Best Buy, Staples, Apple, and
Verizon offer their own trade-in programs to reward you for recycling your
unwanted electronics. Some offer store credit or credit toward an upgrade,
while others provide gift cards.

Another option is Gazelle.com. Just log on and enter the details of the
device you want to trade in. Gazelle will provide you with a purchase
price, and if you’re satisfied with the offer, you print a prepaid shipping
label and send the item to Gazelle.

Another option for recycling old smartphones is to use them for a differ-
ent purpose. For example, Android phones can become Google Assistant-ready
speakers. Or download a book to your phone and use it as an e-reader. You
can also simply use an old smartphone as an alarm or white noise machine
(just download an app).

10 FranklinProsperityReport.com April 2019

 Investment Update
In a Slowing Economy, Here’s How to Grow Your
Portfolio and Generate Recurring Income, Too
By David N. Frazier

Are we headed for recession? I don’t think so, but as I’ve said a number
of times before, I do think the pace of economic growth in the U.S. will
slow in the coming months, thanks in large part to a weakening U.S. housing
market and a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. That means we can expect
stocks in general to trend lower over the next couple of months.

There is good news, though. Not all stocks will feel the pain. There are
some areas of the market that maintain and sometimes grow earnings during
economic slowdowns, and that’s where we want to be right now.

Specifically, now is an excellent time to invest in real estate investment

Trusts (REITs) that own and operate luxury hotels and properties in afflu-
ent neighborhoods.

That’s because these kinds of properties are usually unaffected by economic

cycles simply because the people who typically stay in luxury hotels and
live in high-end communities are rarely burdened by economic slowdowns.

New Portfolio Pick: Host Hotels & Resorts

One hotel REIT I especially like is Host Hotels & Resorts (HST). This
is the nation’s largest hospitality REIT and one of the larger owners of
luxury hotels, including the Marriott, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton,
and Westin brands.

Host owns and operates 93 luxury hotels in major urban and resort markets,
including Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New
York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Scottsdale, St. Petersburg,
Florida, Washington, D.C., Maui, Waikiki, Rio de Janeiro, and Toronto.

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April 2019 NewsmaxFinance.com 11

 While the majority of the company’s hotels are in the United States (88),
five are in Brazil and Canada. And most feature extensive meeting facili-
ties that are often connected to prominent convention centers.

Now let’s look back at other times of economic slowdown to see how this
REIT performed. In 2012 and 2016, the U.S. economy expanded slowly, with
GDP increasing by only 1.5 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. But Host
Hotels & Resorts increased both year-over-year revenues and net income in
both 2012 and 2016.

And in periods of strong economic growth, the company has performed even
better. For example, in 2018, when the U.S. economy expanded by approxi-
mately 3.1 percent, Host Hotels grew net income by an impressive 93 percent.

Meanwhile, the company is strong financially, with its cash alone covering
all of its recurring financial obligations by a ratio of 2.8-to-1. And its
long-term debt represents just 32 percent of total assets, which is rela-
tively low for a REIT.

I rarely pay much attention to corporate management when choosing stocks.

I tend to agree with legendary portfolio manager Peter Lynch who once said,
“Go for a business that any idiot can run, because sooner or later, any
idiot probably is going to run it.” Still, I was pleased to see that Host
Hotels’ chairman is Richard Marriott, who’s been at the helm of the company
for the past 26 years.

Richard Marriott is the son of J. Willard Marriott, the founder of Marriott

Corporation, who grew that company from a small root beer stand in Washington,
D.C., in 1927 to a $4.5 billion business.

Richard Marriott has worked in the hospitality industry since his teens,
beginning in his father’s Hot Shoppes restaurants. In 1993, he assumed the
position of chairman of the board of Host Marriott, which subsequently
became Host Hotels & Resorts.

Having grown up in the hospitality business under the tutelage of one of

America’s all-time great entrepreneurs, Richard Marriott is an asset to
Host Hotels, and I believe he will continue to lead the company in the
right direction.

The stock is currently yielding 4 percent and has paid a dividend every
year for the past 25 years. That’s why I see Host Hotels as a good invest-
ment for both growth and income. I recommend you buy HST up to $19.25.

Whitestone REIT
In regard to our other REITs, we got stopped out of Whitestone REIT (WSR)
on March 1, 2019. We have a gain of 21 percent.

What happened? The company announced that it would restate its revenues
and earnings for the first three quarters of 2018 due to an internal

12 FranklinProsperityReport.com April 2019

 accounting error, which sent the stock down. These kinds of accounting
changes are common, and I don’t see this one having any long-term impact
on Whitestone’s operations. Therefore, I recommend you buy back into WSR
up to $12.

As you know, the REIT owns, leases, and operates approximately 60 commer-
cial properties in culturally diverse and affluent metropolitan areas.
These properties are mostly shopping centers with specialty retail stores,
grocery stores, restaurants, medical facilities, universities, and financial
service businesses within a 5-mile radius of homes and apartment complexes.
The company’s larger tenants include Safeway, Kroger, Dollar Tree, Wells
Fargo, Walgreens, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, PetCo, and University of
Phoenix — tenants that are likely to pay their agreed-upon lease payments
to Whitestone in almost any type of economic environment.

Two examples of Whitestone’s properties are BLVD Place in Houston, Texas,

and Eldorado Plaza in Dallas, Texas. BLVD Place is located in uptown
Houston, one of the larger business districts in the United States, with an
estimated 499,000 residents and an average household income of $153,000.

Eldorado Plaza is located on the north end of the Dallas Platinum Corridor,
which is known for its mix of large, national companies, including Coca-
Cola, Wells Fargo, Pizza Hut, Hilton Hotels, and Mary Kay Cosmetics. An
estimated 191,000 people live within a five-mile radius of the plaza, with
an average household income of $125,000. And the area’s population is
expected to grow by 11.6 percent by 2022.

I like the fact that Whitestone only invests in high-income areas that are
projected to grow fast. And in addition to offering capital appreciation
potential, the REIT pays a high 8 percent dividend.

Whitestone is a buy up to $12.

Brookfield Property Partners

Brookfield Property Partners (BPY) is the last REIT in our portfolio, and
unlike Host Hotels and Whitestone, I expect it to face some challenges over
the next few months. Brookfield owns and operates office properties, indus-
trial properties, and regional shopping malls — properties that are highly
cyclical and that tend to feel the pain in economic slowdowns.

Secondly, I am concerned that the company’s management team appears to have

no clear focus — the REIT is investing in no specific industry segment or
geographical area. For example, Brookfield recently acquired a portfolio of

David Frazier is the president and chief market strategist of Frazier & Mayer Research,
LLC, an independent investment research firm that offers customized research and
analytical services to registered investment advisors, hedge funds, and serious individual
investors. You can check out his latest insights at: www.investorsmonitor.com.

April 2019 NewsmaxFinance.com 13

 manufactured housing communi-
ties and student housing prop- Portfolio Allocations
erties, which have nothing to
Overall, your portfolio
do with its office, industrial, should be roughly
and shopping mall segments. divided into 60 percent
equities, 30 percent
cash/money market Money-Market
Thirdly, I am unimpressed with the Securities
funds, and 10 percent
company’s management team, most 30%
real estate investment
of whom have no prior experience trusts (REITs). Equity
Securities
in the real estate industry. 60%
Unless otherwise noted,
your initial investment 10%
Therefore, I recommend that you in each individual stock, EITS
R
sell BPY. Although this will mean REIT, or fund should
a small loss on BPY, I think we represent 5 percent of
your total portfolio.
would experience greater losses
if we continued to hold on.

April Franklin Portfolios

Allocation Entry Entry Recent Buy At Cumulative Current Total
Recommendation Symbol Percent Date Price Price or Under Dividends Yield Return

EQUITY SECURITIES
INDIVIDUAL STOCKS:
Gabelli Equity Trust 5.45% Series J GAB-PJ 5.0% 10/13/18 $24.99 $25.48 $25.00 $0.68 5.35% 4.7%

Duke Energy DUK 5.0% 1/30/19 $86.05 $89.58 $88.50 $0.93 4.19% 5.2%

Dominion Energy D 5.0% 1/30/19 $69.44 $76.12 $71.93 $0.92 5.10% 10.9%

MUTUAL FUNDS:
AB Income Fund AKGAX 5.0% 08/26/15 $7.90 $7.63 $8.19 $1.05 4.56% 9.9%

Boulder Growth & Inc Fund BIF 5.0% 04/27/16 $8.12 $10.64 $8.40 $1.08 11.50% 44.4%

Emerald Bank&Fin Fund HSSAX 5.0% 05/25/16 $31.68 $31.70 $33.00 $9.00 24.34% 28.5%

Adams Nat Res Fund PEO 5.0% 05/25/16 $19.95 $16.41 $20.50 $3.39 2.44% -0.8%

BROAD MARKET INDEX ETFS:

Nuveen S&P 500 Buy-Write BXMX 10.0% 06/01/18 $14.20 $13.07 $14.20 $0.74 7.50% -2.8%

SECTOR ETFS:
SPDR S&P Bank ETF KBE 5.0% 03/26/18 $48.31 $43.60 $51.50 $0.66 2.40% -8.4%

Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF VDC 5.0% 10/01/18 $139.88 $139.56 $143.00 $1.87 2.99% 1.1%

iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF IHI 5.0% 10/03/18 $222.99 $222.83 $223.00 $0.40 0.53% 0.1%

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS AND REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES

BUY Whitestone REIT* WSR 5.0% $11.61 $12.00 9.5%

SELL Brookfield Property Ptns L.P. BPY 5.0% 02/24/17 $23.32 $19.45 $25.00 $2.77 6.79% -4.7%

NEW Host Hotels & Resorts HST 5.0% $19.38 $19.25 4%

MONEY-MARKET SECURITIES
Money-Market Securities 30.0% 2.00%-2.45%

As of close March 7, 2019. #Recommendation not bought yet.​“Total Return” assumes dividends are received in cash, not reinvested. The “Effective Yield” is the yield investors would get assuming
they bought at the entry price and followed all subsequent recommendations. *Note: We re-issued a buy recommendation for Whitestone REIT (WSR) after getting stopped out of it on March 1, 2019.

14 FranklinProsperityReport.com April 2019

 Money Briefs
By Greg Brown

A Safer Way to Use Your Credit Cards . . .

If typing your credit card number into a website is starting to give you
the creeps, consider moving to a virtual credit card instead. A virtual
credit card isn’t a physical card; instead, it’s a randomly generated
credit card number that changes every time you use it. If a thief got hold
of the number, it wouldn’t help because a single number is only good for
one purchase.

If you’re a Bank of America, Citibank, or Capital One customer, you can

get a virtual credit card for free. All you have to do is ask for one. They
will generate a random temporary card number that links to your account,
but that the merchant never sees.

Bank of America’s program is called ShopSafe. You simply sign into your
account, and ShopSafe creates a virtual number for use each time you buy
something. You can even set a maximum spending limit. Capital One’s online
assistant Eno generates a virtual number each time you shop online using a
browser extension. Citi, offers a similar tool for PCs or through the web.

Another Benefit to Having an HSA . . .

Money in Health Savings Accounts is never taxed, as long as you use it to
pay for medical expenses. But did you know that within certain limits,
you can withdraw money from your HSA tax-free to pay long-term care
premiums, too?

The total you can withdraw ranges from $420 a year at age 40 or younger up to
$5,270 a year if you’re 71 or over. Your long-term care policy must be “tax
qualified” to use HSA savings. Most long-term plans are, but ask your agent.

How to Thwart Identity Thieves Before They Attack . . .

You probably get plenty of junk mail. Most of it can be safely tossed, but
not those preprinted checks from credit card companies. Identity thieves
love finding those then taking out credit in your name. You can stop these
offers from ever coming to your house by going to optoutprescreen.com or by
phone at (888) 567-8688. You can opt out for five years or opt-out perma-
nently (a good idea for your aging relatives). Remember, companies with
which you do business can still send you materials, even if you opt out.

An Easy Way to Slash Your Energy Bill . . .

You can knock anywhere from 5 to 30 percent off your power bill by doing an
energy audit, a close examination of your appliances, energy use, and insu-

April 2019 NewsmaxFinance.com 15

 lation quality around your home. Many local power providers will do what’s
called a “walkthrough” audit for free, though the check will be mostly a
cursory examination of your appliances and windows. If you want someone to
get down in your crawl space with equipment to look for air leaks, that can
run from a couple hundred bucks and up to $650 a visit. Or you can do a
home energy audit on your owns using a checklist at energy.gov/energysaver
(click on “Weatherize” for more).

Beware of companies offering free energy audits; They mostly are looking for
a chance to sell you insulation or expensive new heating and cooling systems.

Need Help Paying Your Taxes? Do This . . .

Did your 2018 tax return surprise you? You aren’t alone. Millions of
Americans had higher tax bills in 2018. The IRS understands. If you don’t
have enough money set aside to pay your tax bill, you may qualify to set
up an online payment agreement.

You still have to file your return by the deadline, April 15. If you owe
less than $50,000 in taxes, penalties, and interest, you can pay in 120
days with no fee. If you need more time, you can take up to six years, but
must pay a $31 fee and pay by automatic bank withdrawal. However, the IRS
will charge interest on those longer payments.

If you paid at least 85 percent of what you owe, there are no penalties
this year. See https://www.irs.gov/payments for details.

To renew or subscribe to The Franklin Prosperity Report go to:

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in this publication is not to be construed, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy, sell, or trade in
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16 FranklinProsperityReport.com April 2019

 A leading Jewish-American is speaking out.
He sees a war against Christians in court and the media.
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How Barack Obama has become the hero of the
Horowitz argues that even Jews – and anyone who
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leading conservative thinker. trial for inexplicably
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very root of America’s democracy and success. Kill off such students to Islam.
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R
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 he shocking way Congress scrubbed every mention
T leftist Democrats, and
of God from The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. fat cats of Hollywood
(Chapter 4, Page 37) and Wall Street
responsible for it.
W
 hy Hollywood stars like Bill Maher, who
Finally, a clear and
belligerently states “religion must die in order
sensible American voice — one that is Jewish that
for mankind to live,” are finding a huge following
makes an impassioned plea warning of the grave
among the Democratic left and Millennials.
danger to our freedoms and our very lives if we let
(Chapter 1, Page 6)
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 he real story of Obama’s relationship with Saul Alinksky,
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